House Intelligence Republican members clear President Trump’s campaign team of colluding with Russia

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THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE HAS, AFTER A 14 MONTH LONG IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATION, FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION OR CO-ORDINATION BETWEEN THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND RUSSIA TO INFLUENCE THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

It’s not quite the whole story, though.

Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have completed a draft report without opposition party input.

They say there was no collusion or co-ordination between their presidential candidate — Donald Trump — and Russia.

The finding is sure to please the White House and enrage House Intelligence Committee Democrats.

After a year-long investigation, Texas Rep. Mike Conaway says the committee has finished conducting dozens of witness interviews and will share their report with Democrats tonight.

Conaway is the Republican leading the House probe.

The public will not see the report until Democrats have reviewed it and the intelligence community has decided what information can become public, a process that could take weeks. Democrats are expected to issue a separate report with much different conclusions.

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee has criticising the Republican members of the panel, saying “history will judge its actions harshly.”

California Rep. Adam Schiff says the Republicans ignored contacts between Russia and Trump officials and they were “not willing to pursue the facts wherever they would lead.” Schiff says the investigation should not be left to special counsel Robert Mueller, who is also probing Russian meddling.

He says it’s Mueller’s job to pursue criminal charges, and Congress should tell people what happened.

Schiff says Republicans “walked away” from that responsibility.

Meanwhile, the lead agency within the United States intelligence community is standing by its assessment that the Kremlin sought to interfere in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of hurting Democrat Hillary Clinton and helping then-GOP candidate Donald Trump.

That’s according to a statement from Brian Hale, spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Hale was referring to the conclusion of the FBI, CIA and NSA made public in a January 2017 report.